Satellite News

Northrop Grumman Corporation announced that Saturn Satellite Networks has selected the OmegA space launch vehicle to launch up to two satellites on the rocket’s inaugural flight scheduled for spring 2021.

Kepler announced that it has selected SpaceX as launch partner to deliver a portion of its first Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation into space onboard SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Rocket Lab has officially opened Launch Complex 2, the company’s first U.S. launch site, and confirmed the inaugural mission from the site will be a dedicated flight for the U.S. Air Force.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has begun preparatory works for setting up a third rocket launchpad in the small coastal hamlet of Kulashekhrapattinam in the Thuthukudi district of Tamil Nadu.

Payload: PSLV-C48; Payload: RISAT-2BR1, nine smallsats; Date: 11 December 2019, 0955 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, India. About 16 minutes and 23 seconds after lift-off, RISAT-2BR1 was injected into an orbit of 576 km at an inclination of 37 degrees to the equator.

Rocket Lab said it has flown a fully Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) for the first time on an Electron launch vehicle. The AFTS flown on the company’s most recent mission, ‘Running Out Of Fingers’, makes Rocket Lab one of only two U.S. launch companies to fly with an autonomous system.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: Dragon CRS-19; Date: 5 December 2019, 1729 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Dragon will deliver more than 2,560 kg of NASA cargo and science investigations, including studies of malting barley in microgravity, the spread of fire, and bone and muscle loss.

PSLV-C48, which is the 50th mission of PSLV, will launch RISAT-2BR1 from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch is tentatively scheduled at 0955 UTC on 11 December 2019, subject to weather conditions.